LA On Your Break
by violetdoodlebug
Summary: Los Angeles isn't just where the story is set, its a part of the story itself. Mostly, these are just short little Densi drabbles with Los Angeles in the center.
1. Santa Monica

a/n:Hey y'all!

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of visiting Los Angeles for the first time. How beautiful of a city. I'm still so not over it.

The whole trip revamped my love for NCIS LA. I haven't been around here for a while (but I have kept up with all my favorite fic updates!) but seeing the city had me all kinds of inspired. I have a list of LA inspired drabbles I want to write based on my own adventures in the city. The writers always say LA is a character in the show. I hope you guys will like them!

The title of this fic 'LA on your break' is the secret message in Taylor Swift's song "That Last Time." Obviously, LA on your break is my catch phrase for the whole experience.

This first one doubles as my post-hallway-halfway-proposal story. You know what I'm talking about.

* * *

1\. Santa Monica

* * *

Monty leads him through the front door of their home on a sunny summer mid Sunday morning. He hears music flowing through the house from somewhere, and upon unhooking Monty from his leash, he allows his ears to trace the sound back to Kensi's phone, which is sitting on the kitchen table. Its a telltale sign that while he and Monty were out on their morning stroll, his sleeping beauty had woken up and was up and about for the day.

He looks around for her, taking a few steps toward the kitchen. He sees her then, as he peeks around the corner. He watches as she throws together her version of breakfast. While she'd be content to gulf down a donut or two or a dozen, his breakfasts have grown on her over the last few months. And while she can't even begin to make him pancakes or smorescakes and all the other creations he's come up with, she does take the opportunity to chop up some fresh fruit and put out some granola and yogurt. He hears the toast pop up out of the toaster, and peeks his head around the corner again to see her jamming and dancing around their kitchen to her techno music. She's barefoot, wearing a white tee shirt adorned in the back with a little peek of lace on the back and little black crochet knit shorts. Her hair is half up and half down, but curled as usual. Everything about the scene that's playing out in front of him is so undeniably her- the woman he fell in love with- that he just can't stand it.

He steps out of the shadow, making himself visible to her in the kitchen and walks toward her. She looks up upon placing their toast on plates and reaching for a butter knife to spread jelly across the bread.

"Hey baby," she says, pushing up on her tip toes to plant a sweet kiss upon his cheek.

He reaches out, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her towards him. Leaning in, he captures her lips for a more proper kiss, and afterwards rests his forehead against hers. "Good morning."

Her cheeks were turning just a little bit pink, and he really kind of adored the effect he had on her, despite it being 110 percent reciprocated.

"Good morning," she whispered back.

He slid his hands down to wrap around them around her waist, and she matched his movements.

He'd known since the day in the hallway at the office, and honestly, he'd known before that, that they were forever. That the day would come that he would propose, she would say yes, and they would be engaged. He'd introduce her to people as his fiancé, and soon thereafter, she would call him her husband.

There wasn't a sense of urgency after their talk in the hallway. He didn't feel like he had to propose right away. Despite their unpredictable lives, he felt like they had all the time in the world. But looking at her this morning, watching her as she danced around in the kitchen and seeing the pink in her cheeks after their breathtaking kiss, he knew today was the day. With the thought of the ring he'd bought a month ago, he was confident that it was time. He'd propose today.

"Got any plans this afternoon?" he asked.

She glanced over at the toast, granola, fruit and yogurt on the counter. "Food."

He smiled. "I meant after the food. We both know you aren't waiting until this afternoon for food."

"Not really."

"You up for going out?"

"Sure, where to?"

"Santa Monica."

She paused. "Isn't it a little late for a surf?"

"Yeah, that wasn't what I had in mind."

She raised her eyebrows at him, questioning his intentions.

He shrugged. "Thought we could stroll the pier, I could buy you some ice cream since there's no way this fruit is going to be sweet enough for you. And then we could walk on the beach, and I was thinking about proposing too. "

She definitely heard that last part. He could see it in the way her eyes widened, how she seemed to stand up a little bit straighter. But she didn't say anything to him in response, but to look at him and nod. "Okay. You better have a ring this time."

She knew his plans, she knew his intentions. There was no backing out, no change in plans. No games then. All in.

It was a strange strategy, but what wasn't strange about them. After all, his .5 proposal did happen in the hallway at work. Without a ring, she likes to remind him.

* * *

The pier was stunning as always. The sun was bright and warm, but a nice warm and salty breeze kept it comfortable in Los Angeles terms. His hand was interlocked with hers, dangling down between them like a light weight. They swung their arms gently as they walked, enjoying and basking in the atmosphere as they traveled down the boardwalk.

She stopped and looked at a few pair of sunglasses, and sincerely thought about buying the white rimmed pair she'd had her eye on when Deeks offered up the ice cream, and she was surely ready for that. As they drifted farther down the pier, she felt her heart rate casually increase.

It was a bit strange knew that right now, he was her boyfriend. But just an ice cream cone and a walk on the beach from now, he'd be her fiancé. Why he told her that, she wouldn't know. But frankly, she didn't care.

As the late afternoon turned into evening, they stepped off of the pier and out towards the sand. She slipped out of her sandals and hooked the straps around her pinkie finger, not missing a beat in connecting their hands back together.

As they walked, they chatted. About the days after they first met, their favorite memories together, their longest nights, their earliest mornings. They'd survived a lot, both together and apart. And in this moment, it was if one was the other's reward. Despite knowing his plan from the start, something about their talk had distracted her and made her forget. Because by the time they had walked far enough away from all the other beach goers and he got down on one knee right above the Pacific's edge, she found herself just a little bit surprised.

She smiled down at him, almost hiding her smile with her palm, but he reached out and grabbed for her hand to stop that. She felt herself giggling. She looked up for just a second, over the enchanting California coast to bring her heart rate down. Before she could look back at him, she saw a shallow wave begin to roll up against the shore.

"Deeks…" she began, but it was too late. It crashed at his legs, the water cool against his skin. The salty water soaked the ends of his shorts as the water pooled around her feet.

He sighed. "Proposals are just never going to be our thing, are they?"

She shrugged. But his eyes looked deflated, so she lowered herself to eye level with him, allowing herself to also become encased in the water. She pulled her sandals into her lap to keep them dry. "But I don't care how I'm proposed to, as long as it's by you."

He could feel himself grin. "Except not in the hallway at work without a ring."

She nodded. "I think that one little stipulation was managable."

His drive was back. "Lucky for us, I have a ring this time." He pulled the little blue box open toward her, allowing her a glance at the ring.

She'd made a big deal out of the whole ring thing, but frankly, just about any ring he'd picked for would have been perfect. It was just icing on the cake that the ring he happened to have picked (or meticulously stressed over picking for more like half of a year) was stunning.

"Deeks, its…" she wanted to tell him it was beautiful, perfect, more than what she ever could have wanted, but he stopped her.

"Kens, trying to propose here. I think I can still salvage it." He was smiling, so it wasn't disheartening. Another small wave crashed against their feet, but by now, it was ineffective. "I love you. God, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Gently, he took the ring out of the box, careful not to drop it. "Kensi Marie Blye, will you marry me?"

There wasn't a beat between his proposal and her yes. She gently lifted her hand to him, and he slipped the ring onto her finger. Using her hand to grab onto his shoulder, she steadied herself against his frame, and softly kissed his lips.

Afterwards, she grabbed his hand and stood. "Now, let's get out of this water because my legs are freezing and I'm absolutely paranoid my ring's going to get lost in the ocean."

He laughed, the adrenaline still coursing through him. He may shoot bad guys for a living, but asking Kensi Blye to marry him was probably still one of the most terrifying- albeit rewarding- things he's ever done.

As he felt the sand beneath his feet and the cool metal of her ring against his fingers, something greater than him was forged. This was it. This was the rest of his life.

And it was looking pretty wonderful.


	2. Traffic and Your Favorite Song

a/n: Yes, I have lost my mind. This proves it. But hey, finals are over!

I apologize for this right now. It is so all over the place. The original inspiration for this got so lost in the whole thing that I just can't recover from it. Spoilers from the mothership's 13x24 if you haven't seen that bombshell yet. If you even watch the mothership. They have a chat about that. I don't know, I feel like that's something they'd have a talk about?

Whatever this is, I'm sorry.

* * *

2\. Traffic and Your Favorite Song

* * *

The 405 at rush hour.

The 405 at anytime, really.

Only God knows why so many people were on the freeway that night. Certainly not all of them were headed to a retirement banquet for one of the other OPS employees that the Special Agent and LAPD Liason were to attend.

Deeks tapped his fingers against the steering wheel of her Audi. "Yeah, no… we're definitely not going to make it. We got all dressed up for nothing."

Kensi shook her head. "We're not even going to be close to making it."

"We should probably call Hetty and let her know," Deeks said. Kensi nodded in agreement, pulling her phone out of her pocket. As she pressed it to her ear, he spoke again.

" Speaking of phone calls, who was it you were talking to the other night?"

"Hmm?" she asked, looking toward him.

"I got out of the shower and you were on the phone. It definitely wasn't your mother and I don't think you'd say 'Semper Fi' to my mother."

Kensi paused for a moment just looking at him, confusion lighting up her face. Suddenly, she remembered the instance he was speaking of. "Oh, yeah…" Hetty picked up the line, so she switched gears. Explaining their traffic situation, Kensi filled her boss in before hanging up the phone.

"Okay, we're okay to miss the banquet."

"We better be," Deeks laughed. "We'll be old and gray by the time we get out of this traffic."

Kensi laughed, even though it wasn't funny. "At least we'll die looking this good." He shot her a smirk, and she grinned.

"Anyway," she continued. "Do you remember Special Agent Gibbs?"

"The guy that fancy suit and tie Agent DiNozzo works for?"

Kensi frowned. "Yeah. Him."

"Why were you talking to him?"

"We keep in touch. I escorted him and one of his agents around LA several years ago. He was a Marine Gunnery Sergeant. We got close. I trust him."

"Oh, makes sense."

"He called me to let me know of vacancy on his team in DC." Kensi exhaled.

"Vacancy?"

She sighed. "DiNozzo."

"He was killed?" Deeks couldn't contain the shock. "I hadn't heard…"

"No, he resigned."

"Why? Was Gibbs too much for him?"

"This is all before your time," Kensi paused. "But he and his partner were always close. Turns out they were in love."

"I don't like where this is going."

"I don't either," Kensi sighed. "Apparently, she moved back to Israel and resigned after her father was killed. He went and found her. She didn't want to come back. So he left her there several years ago. She was killed in a terrorist attack last week, or at least that's what Mossad says. Her house was burned to the ground. They recovered her less than two year old daughter. DiNozzo was the only possible biological match."

"DiNozzo's a father?"

"Yep."

"That's so not even right."

"Believe me," she said. "I know."

"So what is he doing?"

"Gibbs says he's going to figure out what the hell is going on. I'd want answers too. He is dealing with Mossad after all. He has a baby girl to consider. She'll want answers someday too."

"Very true," he looks at her, eyes concerned. He knows what he's about to say is risky. "To just wake up one day and discover you're a parent. Scary. Life changing. Lucky."

"Lucky?"

"Yeah. I think so."

She smiles. "Yeah. I guess he is kind of lucky. Maybe he'll find Ziva. Maybe that little girl will be just what he needs to keep going. Who knows. But it's crazy as hell."

"You bet it is. I mean, we… we're crazy as hell."

She nods. "We are."

"Could that happen to us?"

"Deeks, if I'm pregnant, you're going to know about it."

He releases a breath. "Okay, but just… How do you feel? About the job in DC."

She realizes what this is about. "Deeks, were Californians through and through. I'm not taking a job in DC."

"Are you sure Kens? It sounds like a good opportunity."

She looks into his eyes. She can see the vulnerability, the fear. He wants what is best for her. He wants what will make her happy, even if it wouldn't make him happy.

"What they do is different than what we do, Deeks. They aren't the undercover type. They solve murders. I mean, we all go after terrorists from time to time, but it isn't the same. I'm happy with this, Deeks. With you, with LA, the sun and the sand and not snow, even this damn traffic," she paused. "We're good Deeks. You and me, our moms, our dog. I don't want to move to DC."

"Palm trees over cherry blossoms?"

She smiled. "Any day."

He smiled back, leaning across the console and kissed her lips. He paused then, before leaning back. "But hold on, DiNozzo really has a kid?"

Kensi laughed. "Really."

"Wow. You know, if he can do it, maybe we have nothing to worry about."

"I don't think that's how this works," Kensi paused. The car in front of them rolled forward. "We're moving!"

They didn't move far.

"Are you sure you like this traffic? If we moved to DC…" he began, jokingly.

"We'd still get stuck in traffic."

He shrugged. For a moment, they were silent, nothing but the hum of the radio in the background. Soon, familiar chords filled the car, and Deeks hit the dial with the flick of his wrist. "Is this… yes!"

Kensi rolled her eyes. "God, why did I let you pick the radio station the time we get caught in a traffic jam?"

"Because you _love_ me," he sang, the familiar tune clear to her too."This is my favorite song."

"This is Style. This is a Taylor Swift song."

"But I love it?"

"You ask this like it's a question?"

He starts to dance, shaking his hair around just a little, fixing it as he looked at her to whisper to her about the 'red lip classic thing that he liked.'

Against her better judgment, she started to dance a little bit too. He was being a goof and trying to make her feel better. The whole DiNozzo thing and the call from Gibbs itself had been a little unnerving. But he was good. Deeks was her own personal ray of sunshine. As long as she had him, she'd be okay. She wouldn't have to search for answers with him. Together, they were strong. She didn't have to be strong by herself. So, she comfortably danced, pretending to like Taylor Swift, shaking her head and shimmying her shoulders at him. They deserved three minutes of goofying off. Plus, she knew she looked damn good in this dress.

If she had to be stuck in traffic on the 405, at least she was stuck there with him. And if she had to live in this messed up world, at least she had him.


	3. Clippers

a/n: the thought child of my jet lag. Please do not sue me because I do not own NCIS or Disneyland or Beanie Babies or the Clippers. Also sorry I'm on the 'Densi deserves babies' side of the ship. And sorry for errors my exhaustion lead me to miss.

* * *

3\. Clippers

* * *

He's never been a huge fan of airports.

His badges help get him through security a tad bit easier than the civilians around him, but that still doesn't mean they're a fun time.

He ended up getting sent to DC for a few days. Despite his initial reaction to being asked to head to NCIS headquarters, everything was more fine than Hetty made it seem. He actually got recognized by Director Vance for excellence in his liaison position at some strange banquet about interagency cooperation. It was a weird, strange couple of days. He wished Kensi had been there with him. He's slightly pissed that Hetty didn't tell him he was being recognized, but a little more pissed that Hetty didn't have Kensi go with him.

Her sweet words on the phone when he told her was lovely. Hearing pride in her voice made his heart swell. It wasn't like he really won anything, but it was just enough to make him feel a little bit better about himself since the Internal Affairs episode.

But his return flight was a little bit of a nightmare. He originally had a pretty simple flight plan, from Reagan to Phoenix's Sky Harbor and then into LAX. But when his 6 PM flight out of Reagan got delayed for four hours, he missed his connecting into Phoenix.

So, in order to not be stranded at Phoenix, he opted to take a layover in San Diego, which annoyed the hell out of him because San Diego wasn't that far from LA, but he'd still have to fly into LAX. He'd tried to get on the flight straight to LAX, but it was completely booked.

When he finally got on the plane that was bound for San Diego, it was almost 11 eastern time, and he could tell that he'd be jet lagged if he didn't try to get some sleep. He sent Kensi a goodnight text and as soon as the safety instructions were done and the lights dimmed in the cabin, he was ready to settle in to rest.

He slept way too deeply for a plane ride. His mind wandered off into a dream, slipped into a place he didn't allow himself to fantasize of consciously.

His hand intertwined with a smaller, softer hand, free of calluses and free of worry. The softer hand belonged to a wispy blonde haired child, her bouncing curls framing her face. Despite the blonde curls, the dark brown eyes scream Kensi to him so loudly.

She leads him around, fingers still wrapped around his hand, and pleads for him to dance with her. And just hearing her voice, he can't resist it. So he spins her around, hand guiding her in a twirl. And when she calls, "you spin, Daddy," he ducks under her little arm to try to do as she's asked. They both smile and she giggles. He looks off a few yards and sees Kensi looking back at him, her belly swollen and glowing. The light reflects off the subtle but stunning diamond on her left hand catches his eye, and he suddenly feels the weight of the ring on his own finger tucked between the girl's hand.

He's unpleasantly startled awake by the captain who announces they'll be descending into San Diego, the harsh lights come on in the cabin and he's utterly confused. Not only is he exhausted and half asleep, but his mind had transported him to some place else, like while his body was bound for San Diego, his brain hopped on the plane to Disneyland- the happiest place on earth, Except happy wasn't how he was feeling. He felt deflated.

He was practically in a daze as he deplaned, Sleep glossed over him, but as he walked up the jet bridge, it was so much clearer. His brain's trip to Disneyland consisted of marrying Kensi, having a daughter with her, and getting her pregnant again.

And the problem was, despite not being 100 percent awake, he knew this was what he wanted, Its what felt good and right to him. Its what Kensi had progressed to wanting with him. Its what he's wanted for a long time, but he's been so afraid of it. They have a right to be afraid. Maybe they're not too crazy to get married, but kids? He didn't want to be a shitty father to Kensi's child, his child. And certainly losing one or both parent in the line of duty wasn't fair to the child either.

But that didn't change the image in his head of a very pregnant and very beautiful Kensi, didn't erase the image of their beautiful daughter spinning around his finger. His head was pounding now, mad at himself for allowing himself to even entertain the thought, let alone start to really think about how much he wants it.

His head hurts more when the brightly lit board of gate numbers shows he still has an hour before his flight for LAX is to board. He could have driven himself to LA in that time, but he doesn't let anyone around him in the airport sense his annoyance.

He slips his phone off of airplane mode and a Snapchat from Kensi comes in. She's curled up in bed in his sweatshirt in her selfie and she's captioned it "last few hours of sleeping without you," and another followed after, "I'll pick you up even if its 1 am bc I love you" with a kissy face emoji at the end. He's not really sure why they downloaded Snapchat but he likes it a lot.

He's not about to start taking selfies in the airport, his hair's a bigger mess than usual and his head's still bothering him, so he takes a picture out the window and sends "love you" with it, and trudges down the corridor.

He decides that maybe a drink would help his pounding head, so he walks into the first gift shop on the way to his gate in search of bottled water. There's a young girl, way too wide awake for this hour of the night, digging through a bin of stuffed animal. She's adorable, the innocent child trying to pick out the perfect new pal. He watches her for a moment after he grabs his water bottle. She digs and struggles, standing high up on her tip toes for a moment before resigning with a humph. Its clear she can't reach the toy she wants.

Suddenly, he's taken a few steps toward the bin. "Do you need help?" She looks a little scared, she's probably been taught not to talk to strangers. Quickly and quietly, he reaches out for his badge. "I'm a detective, I work with the Los Angeles Police Department. Can I help you reach?"

She relaxes, even if just slightly. She can't be more than seven or eight, and showing the kid his badge might have been overkill, but he wanted her to be unafraid of him. In this day and age, he shouldn't have expected that.

"Can you reach the red one?" she asked quietly. He stands and looks over the bin. There's two or three little red bears that all look alike, so he grabs one and then bends down to offer it to her.

"This one?" he asks. She reaches out and takes it from him

"My daddy loves this team. Its his favorite. This one is perfect," the girl says. She hugs him, which is just a little bit odd, but he accepts. "Thank you Mr. Detective," she says, Moments later, she's halfway across the store, showing the little bear to what looked like some version of an inattentive older brother.

He isn't sure what team she was talking about, so he stands and reaches down in the bin to grab one of the other red bears to see if he could figure it out. And sure enough, he's holding a Los Angeles Clippers Beanie.

His breath is gone. Maybe the encounter shouldn't have knocked the wind out of him, but in light of his dream, it does. The sweet child he instinctively wanted to help. The Clippers, his team, it was her father's favorite team. It was like someone was shining a light on him, revealing a path he's convinced himself unable to obtain.

Hell yeah he wanted kids, Hell yeah, he wanted them with Kensi. And if Kensi wanted them as badly as he did, then they deserved to make a baby or two. Maybe not right now, certainly not right now. But this wasn't an impossible and inconceivable thought. It wouldn't be without consequences, they'd seen that first hand the day of the half assed hallway proposal. But since they both wanted it this badly, it would be worth it.

Instinctively , he bought the stuffed animal along with his water bottle. He knew there would be a time he'd doubt what he just decided in his own mind, maybe Kensi wouldn't be on board that easily. But the little bear would remind him of one thing- they deserved each other and they deserved whatever the hell would make them happy. He didn't have to push away this burning desire within him. They were in this together, and if Kensi wanted to make a baby with him, they'd damn well find a way to have a baby.


End file.
